EPA announces grants to get trash out of the Great Lakes

SANDUSKY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new grant program aimed at keeping trash out of the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie.EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler came to Cleveland Friday to announce the new program, which will award up to 12 grants, using $2 million of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative money."Removing trash, litter and garbage — including plastics — from marine and freshwater environments is one of EPA's highest priorities," Wheeler said. "The Trash-Free Great Lakes Grant Program is intended to fund efforts by communities and other applicants to clean up beaches and waterways so that the Great Lakes watershed will continue to provide habitat for wildlife and drinking water and recreation for tens of millions of people."The EPA said the money can be used for cleanup projects along the shore or for education and prevention efforts. A request for applications will be issued in October, seeking grant applications. The agency expects to award up to 12 grants, with two big grants and ten smaller ones.Applications are being sought from state agencies, local governments, nonprofits, universities, interstate agencies and Indian tribes.Wheeler is an Ohio native who took his undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland before going on to law school.While in Cleveland Friday, he toured the "Lake Guardian," the biggest EPA research vessel in the Great Lakes, accompanied by U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge Township.Joyce has fought for years for full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Trump administration sought for three years to virtually eliminate funding for the program but reversed itself and now supports the program.EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler speaks in front of the EPA's "Lake Guardian" research boat in Cleveland.